Sell

Home Valuation

About Dave Fratello

About MB Confiential

What Happy Clients Say

Confidential Realty

Weekend Opens (4/21-4/22)

That's about the size of things this weekend. And there are some pretty fabulous properties worth your time.

128 5th

If you like a really, really tricked out, high "wow" factor home, the first couple on our list are "must-sees." In fact, 128 5th is probably having its one-and-only open on Saturday 1-4pm, and it's worth organizing your day around.

128 5th (5br/6ba, 4225 sq. ft.) was new last year and sold for $5.250m. But back then, it didn't have much style inside, pretty spare and perfunctory for a $5m+ house.

My, oh, my, how things have changed.

The buyer from last year wanted a certain kind of dialed-up-to-the-nines dream residence. Designers came in with new materials like snazzy carpets, custom wall coverings, special tiles for the baths. The new kitchen was partly redone. The new master bath was partly redone. A small bedroom was converted to a huge walk-in closet – with its own bath. The main living room upstairs was recast in bright white.

The first level, opening out to the walkstreet, was converted from one of those spacious but empty hangout rooms into a full-blown, 5-star bar and adult playroom. Big comfy couches and a large plasma TV. No detail missed to make it a signature space.

And the whole house was decorator-outfitted with carpets, furniture and extras that perfectly suit the owner, and have plenty of broader appeal. Video and sound systems wired up the place for the high end of the 21st century.

But things change, don't they?

And for this owner, everything changed. Having never lived in this house, after a year's worth of customization, the owner bought something else 3,000 miles away and decided to move there instead. Now 128 5th, instead of being a very-well-located, but spare, spec home, is now a turnkey statement house. You can even view it as a "Strand alternative," with all its dripping style and move-right-in fashion. The Strand without the fishbowl factor.

The new start price is $6.799m, completely furnished and customized – a whole different take on "as-is." The next owner will be the first to live in it.

Even at the acquisition price more than $1.5m below, the seller may well be deeper into the property than the list price can account for.

Can you get $6.8m for a non-Strand property? If you're going to get this deep into the 6's, it had better be a full-size, newer home with absolutely everything done. Hey, that's this. Let's see how it fares.

128 5th starts at $6.799m and is open Sat. 1-4pm. This might be the only public open, so give it a look.

Oh, and be prepared. This open house will be much less involved than airport security, but a bit more rigorous than your typical open. They say they'll take ID just to track visitors to a $7m house. Can't be too careful.

We were unprepared for the shocking fabulousness of 2305 Bayview (4br/4ba, 2600 sq. ft.). We've chosen the outside pic here because no one interior photo seems to fully convey what a sharp and compelling interior this ocean-view remodel possesses.

Inside, this very spacious TH has an art-gallery-plus feel, an incredible and nearly over-the-top level of detail.

They've set aside a would-be 4th bedroom as a home theater, for instance, but not just a room with a TV on the wall, but a drop-down screen with a projector. There's not just an HVAC system for the house, but actually separate systems for each level with color touchscreen controls – and remotes. The fridge isn't just high-end and stainless, it's actually got steel framing a glass door, and you'll find not one, but two wine fridges.

The flooring throughout is a classy, dark-stained wood, baths are ultra modern and tasteful, and little touches abound, like the highly tactile door handles. Or the big touch in the garage: a giant photo mural of a beach scene (San Onofre, 1960s).

2305 Bayview would be the hands-down winner of the most stylish, must-see designation for the weekend, if not for the once-only chance to see 128 5th. Close call.

This one was purchased new for $2.050m in early 2005 but utterly redone. Quite a bit of modern-style upgrading was done before it sold again for $2.250m in Oct. 2006. The current owner added lots of extras and upgrades on top of what was done in '06.

2305 Bayview starts at $2.249m and is open Sat. & Sun. 1-3pm.

201 43rd (3br/4ba, 1800 sq. ft.) is seeded against tough competition in this particular post, but it will hold its ground.

This is a newer SFR (2003) on a half-lot in El Porto Norte with ocean views.

It's got the traditional half-lot/TH layout, one small bedroom on the first level, 2 in the middle. Nice hardwood flooring, a kitchen that's current and cozy. An attractive package and TH alternative.

201 43rd starts at $1.479m and is open Sun. 1-3pm.

221 3rd (4br/4ba, 4050 sq. ft.) is a gorgeous, newer (2005) home being sold for lot value, $4.199m.

Well, not exactly – but there is the matter of the strange trade over at 125 2nd, just a couple doors closer to the water and one block over. As we noted in "New Owners Get to Work," the big late-90s home there sold for $4.2m in April 2011 and recently was razed to make way for a new place. That was a shock.

221 3rd is a newer (2005) Mediterranean with gleaming floors, big views, and a nice family room on the walkstreet level opening to a nice garden patio. The main house really offers 3br and there is a separate unit in back with another.

Living spaces on the top level are divided interestingly, with the kitchen and dining areas raised up over the living room with the greatest views. In back there's even an office and small sitting room that get Malibu views.

This home has a substantial history on the market in recent years. It first debuted 3 years ago at $4.790m, running almost 7 months without success. In 2010 it came at out $4.250m and ran several months more, dropping as low as $3.950m.

So the new start price of $4.199m is about where they were in April 2010, above where they were at the end.